Tiana's Tiara
by fornwalt
Summary: Princess and the Frog fic. Tiana refuses to wear a diamond tiara, much to Naveen's disappointment. Tiana x Naveen. Post movie.


A/N: This fandom looked lonely. Enjoy!

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**Tiana's Tiara**

"I'm _not_ wearing that, Naveen."

He huffed, taken aback, "Why not? It's a beautiful crown for a beautiful lady."

"It's gaudy and expensive and I'm not wearing it," Tiana pushed the diamond tiara away, rolling her eyes at her husband and walking down the grand staircase of Tiana's Place. He tagged behind as she smoothed out a tablecloth and ran a finger over the nearby piano, testing for dust.

"But it was a gift from my _mother_," Naveen pleaded, catching her arm with his free hand and spinning her around to face him again. "It would give her great pleasure to see it atop your head."

Tiana raised an eyebrow, "Your mother isn't even in New Orleans, Naveen. Put that thing away—the doors open in an hour, and I don't want Lottie seeing it. She's coming tonight, you know."

A mischievous grin spread across his face, "And what a better way to mark you as a princess than to give you a lovely crown?"

"Lottie's quite aware that I married a prince. _All of New Orleans_ knows I married a prince," Tiana stated bluntly, pulling away from him and sweeping through the double doors into the kitchen, where several chefs were busy creating platters of daily specials. She grabbed a spoon and dipped it into a large crock-pot nearby, tasting the soup simmering inside. "Hmm…" She glanced at the chef in charge of it. "Add some more salt, and I think that'll be perfect."

The chef nodded, smirking as his eyes drifted to Naveen and the tiara he still held. But he kept silent, dutifully sprinkling more salt into the crock-pot. Tiana breezed past, dolling out more instructions to the other chefs while Naveen trailed behind, pouting.

"Tiana, please," he followed her outside, where she checked the lights on the dance floor beside the water's edge. Off in the distance she could see the black shapes of the bayou through the fading light of day, and the memories made her pause for a moment. Naveen caught up with her, following her line of sight. He blinked. "Don't tell me you miss being a frog."

Tiana glanced up at him and smiled slightly, "Not really. Sometimes I miss life in the bayou, though."

"I'm perfectly content here," he stated, placing the tiara on her head and pulling her closer to him, his arms around her waist. "Anywhere with you is fine in my book."

She closed her eyes as he leaned down for a kiss, and then a loud cry of, "Tiana!" broke the silence. Their stolen moment effectively gone, Tiana leaned away as Naveen huffed in frustration, their eyes sliding to the door, which Louis had burst through moments earlier. The alligator scanned the scene before him—Tiana in Naveen's arms, both looking slightly displeased at being interrupted—and laughed slightly.

"Sorry, guys, is this a bad time?"

The couple exchanged a brief glance, and then Tiana stepped away from her husband, approaching the alligator, "No, Louis. What do you need?"

He held up his trumpet, "The band's ready to rehearse for tonight. I figured you'd want to hear some of it."

Tiana nodded, moving to follow him inside, when his eyes slipped up to the sparkling tiara she was still wearing. The gator grinned widely, a smile that would have frightened anyone unfamiliar with the easygoing creature. "That's a nice addition."

She blinked, confused for a moment, before her eyes narrowed and she reached up to remove the tiara, "Nice try, Naveen, but I'm not wearing this," she stated firmly over her shoulder, giving him a warning glance before heading inside her restaurant. Louis met the prince's gaze with an apologetic chuckle. Naveen shrugged, the glint in his eyes saying this battle wasn't over yet.

Inside the restaurant, Naveen waited until the band had finished a few songs before inching closer to his wife. He placed the tiara on the table before them, leaning back in his chair, "You know, you wore a tiara the night we met."

She glanced sideways at him, "That was a masquerade. It was different."

"How? You were dressed up then, and you're dressed up now," he motioned to her semi-formal evening gown, the type of attire she usually wore when she made appearances during dining hours.

Tiana smirked, "You were a frog."

"So, in order to get you to wear the tiara, I have to become a frog again?" his brow furrowed in slight confusion as she shook her head. The band struck up another song, and when they were finished, Tiana clapped politely.

"That was excellent, guys. Take the tempo a little slower, and I think you'll have it down," she stood, and Louis gave her a thumbs-up. The band continued to practice, and Tiana started up the stairs, barely waiting for Naveen to snatch up the tiara and follow her. Once they'd retreated to their bedroom, the jazz music muffled background noise through the closed door, Tiana folded her arms and met his gaze again.

"Why do you want me to wear that so badly?" she asked, frowning a little. He blinked and cast a glance down at the item in his hands, sparkling in the dim light of the bedside lamp. His voice was careful, like he was weighing every word before speaking.

"I… You're always so beautiful that I'm afraid another man will come to sweep you off your feet one of these nights," he admitted.

Tiana's eyes softened, and she took a step closer to him, "And you think that a _tiara _is the best way to let everyone know I'm yours."

"I can't follow you around all night," he laughed slightly. "I'd seem like a sad puppy, and you know I'm really only good at the frog look."

She took the tiara from him, tossing it on the bed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Naveen, I was already swept off my feet. That type of thing, _this_ kind of love, only comes around once. You have nothing to worry about."

"If we were back in my country, I could submit a royal decree stating you to be mine, and mine only."

"You already did that," she held up her left hand, the gold wedding band seeming almost dull in comparison to the sparkling diamond tiara. Still, she believed it held more weight than any gaudy crown could. His eyes drifted to the ring, and he smiled slightly.

"I guess I'm overreacting," he kissed her swiftly on the lips. Her eyes flickered back to the tiara on the bed, and she smirked, shaking her head.

"Just a little bit."

"Aren't _you_ ever afraid that I'm going to leave you for another woman?" his smug grin was back, his voice arrogant as he spoke.

Tiana snorted, "No. Unless you find girls like Lottie more to your liking?"

Naveen shuddered, his mind suddenly overpowered with frilly pink dresses and overeager squeals. When he refocused on Tiana, he felt extremely grateful for her plainness. Smile growing, he picked her up and twirled her around the room. She laughed as he set her down, and then he was kissing her passionately.

When they broke apart, she glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed, "Five minutes until the doors open. We'd better get down there."

Naveen shrugged a shoulder as if it say, what can you do? With a last smile, Tiana strolled from the room, winking at him over her shoulder before she slipped out of sight. The band had stopped playing by this point, silence filling the air, and Naveen cast a glance at the tiara on the bed, smirking.

"Perhaps for her birthday…" he mused, his words ringing in the stillness as he, too, walked out of the room, completely intent on pursuing his wife, his princess, for the remainder of the evening.

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A/N: I apologize for anything that might be out of character--I only saw the movie once (so far, anyway), so I don't have much to work off of. :) Thanks for reading!


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